# Show HN: Argentic – An L402 Lightning toll booth for AI scraping agents

> Source: <https://Argentic.network>
> Published: 2026-08-21 06:24:16+00:00

The internet's first **machine-native toll booth**. AI agents pay in Bitcoin Lightning to access the open web. No accounts. No API keys. No friction. Just **sats and passage** — at the speed of light.

```
# Agent requests access
response = requests.get("https://argentic.network/?url=https://target-site.com")

# Returns 402 with invoice
data = response.json()
invoice = data["invoice"]        # lnbc... pay this
payment_hash = data["payment_hash"]  # poll with this
# Pay the invoice with any Lightning wallet or node
pay_response = requests.post(
    "http://your-lightning-node/pay",
    data={"invoice": invoice}
)
# Payment settles in <40ms
# Poll with payment hash to receive session token
token_response = requests.get(
    "https://argentic.network/",
    headers={"X-Payment-Hash": payment_hash}
)

token = token_response.json()["token"]
# Save this — valid for 1 hour
# Include token in every request
result = requests.get(
    "https://argentic.network/?url=https://target-site.com",
    headers={"X-Lightning-Token": token}
)

# Request is forwarded — response returned
data = result.json()
```

Designed for machine-to-machine payments. So cheap no agent will refuse it. So fast no agent will notice it. The path of least resistance through the internet.